The New Year Means New Travel
Well, as we start off the new year, one thing will be on everybody’s mind. And that is, in this cold winter weather, thinking of the summer, we are all trying to book summer plans and vacations. The only big vacation I am planning to take is in August, and my fiancé Anita and I will be taking our much awaited honeymoon to Disneyworld. Luckily I took everybody’s advice, and booked during the holidays, when I had the time off. As a result, I got some very good pricing, and some very cheap hotel rooms. And as we travel, there will be one common theme: Security, and getting through those long lines.
It will no doubt be frustrating for sure, as airlines have cut back on a lot of “niceities” and other convenience for passengers. And then there are the idiotic TSA security agents, who in my opinion, have no clue as to what a true terrorist profile is like, much less even apprehend one. But, there may be some hope as we trudge through the new year, as travel gets further incorporated into the advancing technologies which are embracing our every day lives, ranging from the Smartphone to social media, and yes, even Biometrics. A market research study conducted by a firm known as “Amadeus” has just announced some key findings as to how the new era travel will be ushered in.
Here are some details: “major new global study released today outlines how transformative technologies and evolving social values and trends will combine to establish a new era of collaborative travel over the next decade and beyond . . . From chaos to collaboration: how transformative technologies will herald a new era in travel', demands increased partnership across the travel industry, in turn removing the stress, uncertainty and chaos which is usually associated with travelling in the 21st Century, as well as providing much richer, deeper and more personal travel experiences at the same time.” (SOURCE: http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9471/).
Here are the key areas where the role of technology, wireless, social media, and breakthroughsin security technology will play a key role in our travel experience in the new year:
*Travel will not become a chore, rather it will be pleasant, overall experience culminating all of the above factors;
*As we travel through the airports, and as we make it through the transit lounges, getting in and out will become much easier smart cards and biometrics (especially long range fingerprint recognition);
*We will now become a cashless society, as the use of smart cards will proliferate and enable us to make payments on the go very quickly and easily (and perhaps even better than credit cards);
*As Biometrics, Smartphones, all things wireless, and smart cards make their way, they will also keep track of our so called “travel experiences”, and based from that, “intelligent recommendations” will be made for our future plans of travel, with very little effort from us;
*Probably the best of all, with this culmination of different items coming into the foreplay, we will now have exact tracking details on our bags and carry ons. Meaning, if something gets lost, we will know exactly where it got lost, and we will know whom to blame and follow up with to get answers and our lost luggage. Gone will be the days when we are totally dependent upon the rude customer service agents of the airlines. We will now be in control, and best of all, there will be a lot more accountability now.
In the end, all of this sounds real great to me. But my real question still remains: When will all of this actually take effect? I mean, it requires cooperation from the airlines, all of the vendors in the private sector, and who knows what else.
But given how slow things happen here nowadays, my bet it will probably be quite some time. Hmm, maybe Anita and I will be surprised and all of this will happen by the time of our honeymoon? Stay tuned for a posting in late August, and you will find out for sure.